Unfazed by the Ministry of External Affairs letter asking the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) conference to drop the word Eelam from the title of the conference, DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Thursday said that Eelam was not an imaginary word, but one with historical significance dating back to 2000 years. “The term Eelam was used in Tamil literature as early as 2000 years ago,” he said, quoting a line – Eelathu unavum Kaazhaga thakkamum – from Sangam literary work Pattinapalai, which talks about boats moored at Poompuhar, the ancient Tamil port, and was loaded with food items from Eelam and other things from Myanmar. [ full story ] - Drop the E-word, Centre tells TESO meet organisers - The Hindu - Drop ‘Eelam’ from name of meet on Lanka Tamils: Centre to DMK - Indian Express